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Federal agents have launched a major crackdown on what they say is a big industry that helps wealthy Chinese women have American babies. Agents raided 37 addresses in California yesterday in the crackdown on "birth tourism" rings that allegedly charge up to $60,000 to help the women come to the US and have babies that automatically become US citizens, reports the New York Times. Investigators, who said they were seeking evidence of visa fraud and other crimes, could be seen carting away boxes of documents and interviewing pregnant women at upscale apartment complexes, the Los Angeles Times reports.

It's not illegal for a pregnant woman to come to the US and have a baby, which could help her become a US resident herself after her child turns 21, but investigators say the businesses being investigated illegally coached the women on how to lie on visa applications and convince immigration authorities that they were visiting the US for the purpose of tourism, the Orange County Register reports. "Birth tourists" also come to the US from countries such as Turkey, South Korea, and Taiwan, and while it's not clear just how many people are involved, one affidavit relating to yesterday's raid estimated 40,000 of the 300,000 children born to foreign citizens in the US every year are born to birth tourists, reports the LA Times.

It's not illegal for a pregnant woman to come to the US and have a baby, which could help her become a US resident herself after her child turns 21, ..................It for damn sure should be.

kawahchan

Mar 4, 2015 12:51 PM CST

(R) 2016 Gov. RICK PERRY (http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2014/03/07/rick-perry-conservatives-cpac/ ) :This is Obama-Hillary Clinton's failures of the visa policy to the communist China. The Republican US Congress & Senate might introduce a new bill to DECLINE those China's Mandarin baby's US citizenship due to the FRAUD crime for visa by lying to the US Consulate / US federal government during the 8-year (D) Barack Obama presidency. Those outlaw date of those China's travel-visa visitors and her illegal overstay period of time can be found from US federal homeland security department's database, can be traced by FBI. NOTE: how the US State Department to match : 1) at least 9-10 months of Pregnancy, the illegal overstay period of time in the States; 2) lying travel-visa FRAUD to US Consulate / US federal government; the communist China's Mandarin baby's Birth Certificate registered Birthday at US to compare the visa US Form I-94 marked date, to DECLINE a China's Mandarin baby's US citizenship from US Court and US State Department.

toomanycars

Mar 4, 2015 12:01 PM CST

This article leaves out important information. Most of these Chinese parents were very wealthy ,didn't pay any taxes, and the pregnant mothers went to the hospital claiming they were poor and got all their medical and hospital stay for FREE.